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李開復博士英文自傳全書（連載【105】）

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Lawyer: Have you recommended him to Microsoft?

Me: Yes. I did in 2001. Then he worked for Microsoft for two years.

Lawyer: Did you recommend him to Microsoft again when he completed his MBA at Stanford in 2005?

Me: Yes. He wanted to go back to China, so I recommended him to Microsoft China. But it didn’t work out. I have emails that I can submit as evidence. Would you like to read them?

This type of tricky Q&A went on for seven full hours. When it was finally over, my coach Susan Harriman looked relieved. “Impeccable!” she exclaimed. “Kai-Fu, I’ve never seen someone like you in cross exam. All your answers were thoughtful, truthful and logical. You didn’t fall into a single trap. We’re all proud of you!”

I was proud of my lawyers, too. As I walked out of the court room, I felt grateful, not only to the dream team of lawyers, but also to my character witness, Xu Xiaoping, dean of the New Oriental Education and Technology Group’s Research Center in China.

I once thought I could easily get a friend to be my character witness. But it turned out that the employers of my friends held them back for business relationships with Microsoft. When I was in despair, Mr. Xu (who keeps the Chinese way of having family name precede the given name in the English translation of his full name) came to my rescue. He detailed my positive influence on China’s college students in his written statement:

From my communication with students in the New Oriental School, I have learned that Dr. Lee has an enormous impact on many students in terms of their career planning. Dr. Lee’s letters and articles help them establish their value systems. I personally often quote Dr. Lee when I give speeches. Dr. Lee’s speeches are particularly popular with students from high school to Ph. D. level, between ages 18 and 40. The website of our school often publishes his articles, which enlighten not only our students but also others interested in studying abroad. Numerous students have told me they believe Dr. Lee is a venerable, trustworthy person from whom they can learn a great deal…

Mr. Xu even claimed he was willing to take legal responsibility for this testimonial. His deep trust in me kept me from losing faith in human nature.

In the stage of depositions, a friend working for Microsoft also stood up for me when he was called upon as a witness from my former employer. He attested to my integrity and said he trusted me in his deposition, regardless of all the instructions Microsoft lawyers had given him. His extraordinary courage deeply touched me.

While some old friends turned into enemies, I learned to hold true friendship even more dearly.

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